Chapter 286 - Runes of a Lost Age

My beta reader hasn't had a chance to look at this one, but I'm feeling really good about this one and don't want to post it any later. I've got a good vision of the next couple of chapters, so I'm hoping to be back on schedule this week. If not tomorrow, by Saturday.

To keep you guys informed, I'll post a comment tomorrow on this chapter at around 8pm UK time (this chapter is going live at 2am for reference) to say if tomorrows chapter will be uploaded on schedule or if I need some extra time.

Other than that, hope you enjoy :)

The run from the bottom of the cavern walkway to the steps leading up to the lich’s throne wasn’t far. Maybe fifty paces at most. However, with the battle raging around them in the cavern and an undead army staggering around in their path, it felt a lot longer.

The ruins loomed up ahead; a towering monument of ancient, grey stone veiled in shadow and dark energy. Once, it had surely been a shrine before the dungeon fell to Irila. Now, her throne was atop the plateau above, surrounded by collapsed walls and half toppled pillars.

A ghostly trail of light shone from it, white and full of essence. If they followed it, they would find the lich’s phylactery, Hump was sure of it. But the world would not make it easy for them. Undead converged on their position, blocking their way with a mass of bodies more so than strength. To the right, the lich’s apprentices were on the move, leaving their positions in the spell formation and forming up in front of the white stone, the former dungeon core, at its centre. Their robed figures flickered in its ethereal glow as they joined the fight.

For now, Hump’s squad went undisturbed by the stronger foes. With each step, Irila’s words haunted Hump’s mind—Yunillia and the keepers hadn’t been the target of their grand formation, which could only mean that either Owalyn or Drakalyn were. He couldn’t imagine what dark magic they had called upon that could be such a threat from so far away.

Distractions, Hump told himself. One step in front of the other. Keep moving. Do what you can.

With the apprentices aiding the undead, the progress of the dragon keepers was stopped, and they were forced onto the defensive. From a quick glance, it seemed they relied mostly on powers of death, similar to the beams and blasts Irila had been using though far less powerful. At a guess, Hump placed the strongest of them at Rank 5. Alone, they were hardly a threat to the keepers, but there were dozens with them, along with skeletal giants, fleshy abominations, and the lich herself. The cavern was chaos.

One of the dragons let loose a blood chilling cry that Hump felt in his mind, the connection he had to the pack still there. His eyes found the creature through the crowd—Onyxia, Gawain’s dragon. The night black dragon was slumped on the ground and flailing her legs in a panic as Gawain kept three apprentices at bay with arrows. Tessa arrived to help, Igni, her dragon, letting loose an agonised wail.

Hump’s heart sank at the soul—Onyxia was dead. He felt the severed connection to his core. It was incredibly faint compared to his connection with Nisha, but the suddenness of it left him stunned.

“Finn, Hump, keep moving!” Ado roared.

Hump felt a hand on his back, pushing her forward—Celaine.

Ahead of him, Finnian screamed as he swung his giant sword, smashing apart a skeletal creature in his path. Aurora roared at his side, savaging a three-headed ghoul as it leapt at them, her teeth tearing it in two with sheer force. More undead flocked to them, but between their own strength and Ado’s manifested wolf pack blessing, they made short work of them, crossing most of the distance in seconds.

“They’ve noticed us,” Celaine shouted. “Be ready for spells!”

Hump glanced over to see a tall woman clad in purple robes pointing their way. She carried a staff far longer than any wizard’s staff Hump was familiar with, and from the way those around her reacted it seemed she carried some authority. A group of ten apprentices lined up along their flank to face them.

Hump threw his Shield up at their side, covering as much space as he could. “Stay behind it!” he shouted at the others.

Celaine, Varesha, and Glys did just that. The shaman maintained her support blessings while the two archers both changed their focus to the warlock practitioners.

Hump was forced to slow down and focus on his spell as magic exploded in their direction. It struck his Shield with force enough to make Hump stumble a step. Purple light danced off the point of contact in all directions, roaring as it struck the earth and left a shining line in its wake.

While the magic blocked his view, Hump heard screams on the other side as arrows found their mark. Their spells stopped, and Hump spotted four apprentices on the ground already, while the others had changed to defensive magic.

He dropped his spell, levelled his staff, and unleashed a beam of fire that tore through the left-most portion of their ward spell, taking down another of the apprentices without even a scream. It seemed defensive magic wasn’t their strength.

Glys pressed a hand to the ground then threw it as if shaking a blanket. Moss and grass erupted into the air like a cloud, radiating green like the summer sun through leaves as it formed a thick barrier of foliage between them and the apprentices.

“It won’t last long,” Glys said. “Let’s go!”

Finnian and Ado had already reached the ruin’s steps where they fought off a final few creatures. Nascal held the bottom, positioned right in the centre of the staircase. An ethereal glow formed around him. At first, Hump thought it was the lich’s powers, but then he saw the faint form of warriors at his side.

“Shield Wall!” Nascal bellowed.

The men fully formed as power surged from the warrior, lining the stairs with a dozen ghostly figures. They shouted as their shields locked together, weapons ready behind them.

“I shall hold them here,” Nascal said. “Get to the throne, Packmaster.”

“You won’t stand alone,” Finnian said. He looked to Ado. “I will do more good here. Go. Take the wizard and figure this this thing out.”

Glys and Varesha fell in line with the two men. Ado looked at them and gave a stern nod.

“Mother be with you all,” he said. He turned to Hump and Celaine. “The two of you, with me.”

The spirit warriors parted to allow Hump and Celaine through. Ado climbed the steps three at a time, quickly reaching the top where he came to stand before the throne. As Hump reached the top, he glanced back at the sound of battle nearby. The others were already engaged. Nascal had retreated three quarters of the way up the stairs, positioning his Shield Wall so that spells from the ground couldn’t pass overhead and interfere with the three of them at the top of the plateau. Beyond, Irila had Yunillia on the ground now. Their battle was concealed behind a haze of essence, but it seemed the Stormcaller was being forced back. The lich’s cackle echoed through the cavern.

“Celaine, check the rear side of the shrine,” Ado commanded. “Don’t go too far. Hump, I need you to focus on this now. I can’t see an obvious source for the lich’s power. Is it the throne itself? This whole area is rampant with essence.”

Hump approached the throne quickly, looking it over… nothing. There was no sign that it was the phylactery. No sign of anything but the ancient stone throne. Yet the source of her power was certainly coming from here.

“There’s nothing here,” Hump said in disbelief.

“That can’t be right,” Walt said. “I can sense it. In the throne. There’s something there, I’m sure of it.”

“Where?” Hump asked. He knelt, following a faint stream of essence rising through the stone floor. “Is it underground?”

“Looks that way, Hump.”

“Shit. It’s coming from inside the shrine,” Hump said. “Let me try something. Give me some space.”

Better make it quick,” Walt said, his voice laced with concern. “I think something’s wrong with your lightning friend.”

An explosion of power drew Hump’s gaze back. Yunillia’s scream echoed through the cavern as a storm of blue and black power erupted around her. She was losing control. The lich’s curse was taking over.

“Mother’s mercy,” Celaine whispered, returning to the throne. She gazed at the battle with stunned terror.

Hump turned from it, taking out his spellbook, the pages flying open. He drew a deep breath and reached for the earth with his essence. Bronze tendrils lanced at it from his staff and spellbook as he channelled his power through both. “Transform Earth.”

He tried to force his way into the ground beneath and surrounding the throne, but magic pressed back—a solid wall of force that seemed impervious to such magic.

“Damn it,” Hump snapped. “Ado, we need to break through the floor. Can you do it?”

Ado forced his eyes away from Yunillia and drew upon his blessings. He transformed, his body becoming larger, his muscles bulging as light pulsed in his bear tattoo. Raising his leg, he roared as he slammed a foot down against the ground with a booming crack. Bits of stone broke off from the surface layer of tiles, but it was nothing but minor damage.

“Any other ideas?” Ado asked.

Hump was already pulling out his herb bundle from his pouch. “Spark.”

The bundle caught, and he inhaled deeply. The pages of his spellbook were already turning as he sought his recently acquired Tier 2 variant of Magic Eye.

SPELLBOOK

Essence Sight

Enhancement | Ritual | Tier 2 | Range: Line of Sight

Description

Enhance perception to reveal the essence of the world, complex magical patterns, spiritual auras, and unravel veils. These effects can be enhanced through a potent combination of alchemical ingredients.

Origin Spell

Magic Eye

Notes

y.936 – Hump – An enhanced variant of Magic Eye discovered in the Daston Library of Sheercliff, which I was fortunate enough to gain access to. Most notably, it no longer requires a concoction of herbs to function, though the effects are less powerful without them.

A wave of power washed through him as he recited the words of the ritual, concentrating in his eyes. As the essence of the spell reached its apex, he opened his eyes and stared at the throne.

The streak of ghostly power he’d seen before was nothing. It was a storm of essence that encompassed the entire shrine, rising up in a vortex that encompassed everything within. There was no doubt it came from within the shrine, but some came from the throne too, trailing up in whispering swirls of pure, blue essence, untainted by the undead magic of Irila—faint, yet unmistakeable.

Stepping closer, he found the source of the essence. Fine runes marred the surface of the right arm of the throne. He knelt, running his hand over the wood and then studying them. “I’ve found something.”

“What is it?” Ado asked.

“Runes. I think I recognise them,” he murmured, realisation dawning on him. He thought back, trying to recall where he’d seen them before, then his eyes widened. He turned to Celaine. “They’re in the same style as those used in the temple of Fishers Lake.”

“Is that helpful?” she asked.

Hump nodded eagerly, reading the runes more closely, forcing his eye over every mark and channel. “I think I can do something with this.”

Hump’s spellbook shook. He took it out.

SPELLBOOK
Five-Point Seal

Unknown

Description

A sophisticated ward with five layers of runes, designed to be kept shut against all intruders.

This was it. It was just like the Three Eyed Seal he’d seen in the temple, or at least, it was created using the same runic language. He would recognise the sharp lines anywhere. They were more like God Glyphs than modern Alveronian. Briefly, he wondered if the lich could use this magic? She was definitely old enough, and it would explain why so much of her power was so foreign to him.

A more pressing question was whether he could break it. He closed his eyes, ignoring the battle around him as best as he could. Placing his hand on the arm, he reached for the spell, trying to feel out the runes with his essence.

Immediately, he sensed a defensive surge. Intent pressed back and pain flared in his mind. He whipped his hand back and grimaced, but it passed quickly. Not a trap, just a strong ward.

“Shit,” Hump said. “It’s more powerful than the one we encountered before I think.”

“Can you get through it?” Celaine asked.

“Whatever you’re going to do, do it fast,” Ado snarled. “You’ve drawn the lich’s eye.”

Hump sensed the sharp intent of Irila and whirled around to see a beam of power heading straight for them. Ado’s war bow was already in hand. He heaved a massive arrow, essence rising from it in thick green mist, and then he loosed it. A hawk shrieked as the arrow flew, spectral wings extended at the arrow’s sides. It shrieked as it struck the lich’s spell, shattering it in midair with an explosive boom.

Through the mist, Hump spotted Yunillia on her knees, her hands pressed to the temples of her head as she screamed. Itris cowered before her, trying to get close but unable to close in through the storm of power around her.

“I won’t be able to hold her for long,” Ado said. “Hurry.”

Hump returned his attention to the throne, once more placing his hand to the runes. This time, he wouldn’t pull back. It was powerful—more powerful than the door he’d encountered in the temple before, but so was he. In the past, Vivi explained that she’d broken the seal by focusing on the channels first, disrupting them with her will and essence, thus weakening the runes. Hump could do the same.

He let his essence surge forward, piercing the formation and forcing his way inside. Intent pushed back, sending shooting cold through his own channels and to his core. He formed a wall against it in his mind, resisting it just as he would the Lich Queen. It was rampant with her power, recognisable, but not the same. This was much older and less twisted.

He threw more and more power into the formation. Cold lanced up his hands and forearm at the sudden expense of essence. His muscled cramped, a splintering headache soared in his head. He clenched his jaw, pushing on as he felt the first channel give. After that, they started to collapse. The lich’s stored intent faded. And the seal broke.

A loud thud echoed, and the ground behind the throne opened in the floor. A narrow stairwell led into the shadows below.

“Nice one, kid!” Walt cheered, sounding more like his usual self. “It’s there. Do you feel it?”

“I feel it alright,” Hump said.

He stood, just in time to see Ado fly through the air and land heavily against a nearby pillar. The shaman slumped to the ground, gasping. Celaine loosed an arrow at Hump’s side, thick with the silver essence of Power Shot, but it was swatted aside in a wave of power.

Hump turned to see the lich standing before him. Up close, her pale face was cracked, her lips scarred with dry wounds, her teeth yellow and rotted.

A laugh came from behind him that made his blood run cold, and he turned to see the lich standing there. “You should have taken my offer, wizard. Now I shall have that book.”

Hump whirled around and readied his staff.

“It’s just a spellbook,” Hump said. “What do you—”

He sensed essence to his right—an essence he recognised. It seemed the lich realised it too as she was turning, leaving herself momentarily exposed.

Hump wouldn’t have long. She’d be faster than any spell he could throw at her that might do any damage, but there was one thing he could do. Raising his left hand, he unleashed the power stored within his Osidium ring.

An explosive blast shot forward, shining with the bronze light of the sands. The lich gasped, shielding herself in power just in time to avoid being blasted away by the power. Anger filled her eyes. She opened her mouth, a spell on her lips.

When a sharpened stone thick with bronze essence struck her from the side and tossed her from the plateau. Ashera marched toward them from the right, bloodied, battered, but alive.

“Go!” she shouted. “Destroy it.”

Ado was on his feet now. Blood ran down his chin from the corner of his mouth, but he was grinning. “You heard the old woman. Get going you two.”

Celaine glanced at Hump, her green eyes shining with hope. Together, they descended the stairs into the ancient chamber below.